True Family

The believer belongs to two families: his earthly family and the eternal family. Both were created by God, Who was a Father to His Son before Creation. Although believers are justified and righteous through the blood of Jesus, we are all in process. No family is perfect, and there are times when our earthly family interrupts our eternal focus.

We saw this in Mark 3:31-35, where Jesus was interrupted in His teaching by His mother and brothers. While the Bible does not tell us directly what Jesus’ family wanted, we can reasonably assume they were not there to hear His teaching. Most likely they were there for earthly family reasons.

Jesus responded by turning an earthly family interruption into an eternal family teaching moment. Building upon the importance of the earthly family, Jesus introduced the eternal family of God. “For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:35).

Our earthly families and our eternal family (the local Church) are at their best when they support each other. The two form a unique synergy: the Church filling many needs of the earthly family, and earthly families serving the needs of other families and ministries of the Church.

Two families created by God, the Perfect Father, working together for the glory of Christ—this is true family.